The Latin texts we will read on this course look back on the reign of terror of the emperor Domitian (84–96 CE) — an age of secret informers, shadowy conspiracies, and suppression of dissent. Tacitus’ Dialogus de oratoribus takes the performance of a subversive tragedy as the pretext for a discussion of the possibilities for free speech under tyranny. Juvenal’s first book of Satires, written in the aftermath of Domitian’s assassination, takes aim at the stooges and snitches who had profited from his rule. This is the wider cultural and political context we will explore as we translate selections from two of the most brilliantly incisive writers in the history of Roman literature.
Course Requirements:
Final exam (25%); two midterm exams (25%); 8-page final paper (20%); presentation (10%); translation (10%); participation (10%).
Intended Audience:
Advanced Latin students
Class Format:
Three meetings per week (recitation, translation, discussion)